In Support of Resignation

Not long ago I happened to find myself in a discussion with an ex-Mormon woman who said she was discouraging her husband from resignation from the Church. She apparently considered herself an ex-Mormon, never having resigned, and so, was actually someone who the Church would have considered to be an inactive member. Her husband, she said, struggled deeply over his realization that the Church was not true, and felt he needed to resign, formally, but was deeply conflicted over that step as well. She, rather casually, shared her opinion that the resignation served no real benefit, but rather was an illusory and meaningless thing. I respectfully disagreed.

Some of us, I explained, particularly those of us who are former members of the “Holy Melchizedek Priesthood” see this a little differently. As former members, some of us took our oaths and covenants very seriously. We were true believers. Such was my case. We not only believed in the doctrine and ordinances and covenants of the Church, but also believed that the underlying philosophical and social principles behind them were sound. We actually believed that it was our moral obligation to share the truth of the “Gospel” with others and we did, quite seriously. This because of the underlying spiritual perception, that I still believe to be true, that the cosmos is interconnected on all levels and that our welfare in the universe is directly and inseparably connected to our respect for the welfare of others. The sharing of fundamental truths that impact on our perception and grasp of reality in a healthy and life affirming way is an inherent obligation that, while exploited egregiously by the Mormon Church’s fraudulent representations that we were naive enough to believe for a time, does in fact continue on as an important and relevant aspect of actual social and spiritual welfare, apart from and separate from the lies and misrepresentations of a false and exploitive priesthood.

We, former members of the Holy Melchizedek priesthood, whether that priesthood was a false construct of manipulative masterminds for personal gain, or some warped and twisted karmic wave of social obedience with real cosmic impact, did, in fact, testify to others that things that we now know to be false, were true. We did this. This is not an insignificant thing to do. The fact that we might have been mistaken, does not exonerate us from the cosmic ramifications of contributing to a karmic wave of obedience to false prophets and false doctrines that exploit faith and hope, corrupt epistemology and the reasoning process, and contribute to a subtle yet deadly social cancer that is contributing profoundly to the social blindness behind the greatest potential political force on earth. We supported, encouraged, and contributed to this wave. This social wave is very, very real. We had a hand in this.

For my part, I believe that it would have been dishonorable for me to slip away into quiet inactivity after having boldly testified to others that the Church was true and having personally baptized more souls than I can recall, into the Church. The excruciating point of realization that I had been deceived and that I had contributed to the deception of others was not a time to cower quietly in shame over my mistake, but rather to make restitution and take meaningful steps to separate my karma from the wave that I had attached myself to. What we find dishonorable and disgusting about a certain Mormon politician’s public behavior, is his complete incapacity to admit that he is so often and arrogantly wrong. His psyche continues to bear publicly the fruits of the epistemological instability and corruption that is inherently ingrained in the social and doctrinal culture of the Mormon Church. Shall we be so cowardly? We, former members of the Mormon Church vastly outnumber the current members, and yet the current membership, because of our silence, passes itself off as one of the most powerful political forces on earth and contributes to the social blindness that accepts the exploitation of faith as an excusable act solely on the basis of a public veneer of good works. The philosophical attitude that makes up this duplicity infects every aspect of culture. The naivete’ that supposes that we will somehow navigate the remnants of our society out of the destructive social rocks of an Orwellian culture of double-think, without calling the underlying philosophical corruption that masquerades as this religion that we once promoted out for what it is, is a dangerous social disease.

I believe that we owe it to our fellow beings to be honest about our mistakes and former testimonies, by setting ourselves right, formally, as conscientious objectors to a social ill with serious ramifications. To set ourselves right, we must formally resign our former covenants, however false and fraudulent they might have been, as an acknowledgement of that fraud and our unwillingness to allow our stale and out of date membership records to be touted by the Church as one of 14 million members. Let us not allow anything that we have any control over to be further misused or misrepresented by the Church to promote illusions about its strength, vitality, and legitimacy. Let us renounce, and announce that we have renounced. This begins our restitution. This is not an insignificant thing. It is profound. Please support, if you are able, the group resignation gatherings and invite others to do so.